MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Dr. Carlo Riccardo Rossi, MD
Melanoma and Sarcoma Unit, Veneto Institute of Oncology
Surgery Branch, Department of Surgery
Oncology, and Gastroenterology, University of Padova,
Padova, Italy
MedicalResearch: What are the main findings of the study?
Dr. Rossi: A total of 90% patients undergone lymph node dissection for melanoma had 12, 7, 14, 6 and 13 excised lymph nodes (10th percentile of the distribution) after 3 level axillary, 3 level or less neck, 4 level or more neck, inguinal, or ilio-inguinal dissections, respectively.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Robert O. Dillman, M.D., F.A.C.P.
Executive Medical Director
Hoag Institute for Research and Education
Hoag Cancer Institute
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Dillman: The main finding of this study is that among 149 metastatic melanoma patients treated with high-dose interleukin-2 (IL2), survival was much better in the subset of 32 patients who also were treated with patient-specific vaccines (that is active specific immunotherapy or ASI) that contained antigens from tumor cell lines derived from there own metastases that had been surgically resected. The 5-year survival rate from the date of starting IL2 was 39% in those receiving vaccine compared to 13% in those who did not (p<0.001). A number of studies have reported that a 5-year survival rate of 15% is typical for patients treated with IL2. The data also suggested that 5-year survival was better in the 25 patients who received the vaccine after, rather than before IL2 (46% vs 14%), p<0.001). Among the 32 ASI-treated patients, there was a trend for survival benefit for the 16 patients treated with autologous dendritic cells pulsed with antigens from the autologous melanoma cells and injected with granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) compared to injections of irradiated tumor cells with or without GM-CSF (p=0.17)
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with:Ze'ev Ronai, Ph.D.
Professor and scientific director of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute La Jolla San Diego, Calif.
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Answer:This study provides the first direct evidence of the importance of the PDK1 enzyme in the development of melanoma and in the metastasis of this aggressive tumor type. We demonstrate, with a genetic mouse melanoma model (harboring the Braf/Pten mutations commonly seen in human melanomas) and/or pharmacological inhibitors against PDK1, that melanoma requires this enzyme for its development, and more so – for its ability to metastasize. Since PDK1 is key kinase that regulates a number of protein kinases, which are currently being assessed in clinical trials (including AKT), our finding points to a new set of targets that could be more amenable for effective combination therapy in melanoma.
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MedicalResearch.com Interview with: Susan Swetter, MD
Professor of Dermatology
Director, Pigmented Lesion & Melanoma Program
Stanford University Medical Center & Cancer Institute
Melanoma Survival Disadvantage in Young, Non-Hispanic White Males Compared With Females
MedicalResearch.com: What are the main findings of the study?Dr. Swetter:Women diagnosed with melanoma tend to fare better than men in terms of improved survival, and this has mostly been attributed to better screening practices and behaviors in women that result in thinner, more curable tumors, and/or more frequent physician visits in older individuals that result in earlier detection. Our study focused on survival differences between young men and women (ages 15-39 years) diagnosed with cutaneous (skin) melanoma, who constitute a generally healthy population compared to the older adults that have usually been studied. We found that young men were 55% more likely to die of melanoma than age-matched women, despite adjustment for factors that may affect prognosis, such as tumor thickness, histology and location of the melanoma, as well as presence and extent of metastasis. Our results present further evidence that a biologic mechanism may contribute to the sex disparity in melanoma survival, since adolescent and young adults see physicians less frequently and are less likely to have sex-related behavior differences in skin cancer screening practices than older individuals.
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